THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ

Press Release Article

PORT AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO ENHANCE THE APPEARANCE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE

Date: Oct 08, 2008Press Release Number: 114-2008

New Fence Wraps Build on Agency’s New Commitment To Improve Transparency About Rebuilding

The Port Authority will replace the fence surrounding the World Trade Center construction site with a new, clean and informative wrapping of designs depicting the current progress on the site, what the site will look like when it is rebuilt and improved way-finding signs so pedestrians can get to their destinations faster and more easily.

The 8-foot-high, blue vinyl mesh wrapping is part of the agency’s new effort to increase public outreach, transparency and accountability, and improve the quality of life in Lower Manhattan during the rebuilding effort.

The fence will be covered on Church Street between Liberty and Vesey streets; on Vesey Street from the PATH Station entrance to West Street; and on Liberty Street from Church to Greenwich streets.

Initially, the wrap will contain interior and exterior designs of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub and One World Trade Center, the Freedom Tower.

The agency will maintain an uncovered area of the fence on Liberty Street just west of Greenwich Street where tourists can view work in progress on the site.

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, “The Port Authority is committed to openness and transparency in rebuilding the World Trade Center, and this fence wrapping is another way we can deliver on that commitment. It will show those who live and work in the area, and tourists from around the world, the considerable progress we’ve made in the last two years and what the site will look like when it is fully rebuilt.”

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said, “This is about making life a little better for those who live and work amid the massive rebuilding effort at the World Trade Center site. And it’s one of many new steps we are taking to improve public transparency and accountability for this project.”

The announcement about the wrap was made today by Executive Director Ward as part of a presentation he gave to the agency’s Board of Commissioners about the Port Authority’s new efforts to increase public outreach, transparency and accountability.

As part of that effort, the Port Authority launched a new World Trade Center Web site – www.wtcprogress.com – last week to provide the public with all-inclusive information on the rebuilding effort, which includes construction on the 16-acre site of a Memorial, the Transportation Hub, five major office towers, and related projects such as the WTC retail, Vehicle Security Center and Greenwich Street. Other new initiatives that are part of this effort include: public interim milestones for all Port Authority projects on the site; quarterly reporting; and a new Office of Program Logistics to communicate regularly and openly with the residents, businesses and public officials of Lower Manhattan.

CONTACT:The Port Authority of New York and New JerseySteve Coleman, 212 435-7777

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; the Port Authority-Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.